EAGLES ADVANCE
FAMILY FIGHT
Issaquah narrowly makes it to state tourney — Page 9
Sophomore walks in Relay for her mom — Page 6
The IssaquahPress
Issaquah’s only locally owned newspaper
www.issaquahpress.com
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
May Valley Road yet to rebuild one year after landslide
By Tom Corrigan tcorrigan@isspress.com
If you have driven May Valley Road anytime in the past year, you likely noticed the road is reduced to one lane between roughly 223rd Avenue Southeast and 229th Drive Southeast. At the same time, you also may have noticed that while the south side of the road is blocked from traffic, there has been absolutely no sign of any construction work. Automated, solar-powered traffic signals allow vehicles to travel the effected stretch of road in alternating directions. King County closed the south side of the road following a landslide that damaged that road in early 2014, said Rochelle Ogershok, a spokeswoman for the King County Road Services Division. Ogershok said repairs to May Valley Road would begin this summer, though she did not have an exact date. Repairs have been estimated to cost $1.6 million, with emergency funding provided by the Federal Highway Administration. Work should be completed by fall. Once reconstruction work begins, both sides of May Valley Road will be closed in the affected area and a detour route posted. The rebuilding of the road was to have started early this year, Ogershok said. However, after discussions with local schools, officials decided total closure of the road would cause significant delays for school buses. County officials then made the decision to move the closing to after the
end of the current school year. A county website spells out what is happening regarding reconstruction of May Valley Road. There are also signs posted on either end of the currently closed stretch of road that state reconstruction of the street will begin this summer. The signs are a good distance from the temporary street signals and the drivers spoken with recently had no idea when or what type of work was to be done to the street. While waiting at a red light at one end of the closed section of road, Issaquah resident John Randall said he comes through the area at least twice a day, going to and coming home from work. “It’s just annoying and it doesn’t make sense,” said Randall, who had not heard of any safety issues related to the 2014 landslide. “If this is annoying, what’s it going to be like when they actually start work?” asked Ross Partner, who said he also drives May Valley Road on a regular basis. The detour will reroute traffic onto Issaquah-Hobart Road, Southeast Newport Way and state Route 900, according to the county website. Once it starts, work will include removing unstable soil, building a new retaining wall, reconstructing the roadway and reinstalling the guardrail damaged by the landslide. According to the website, the landslide caused the now closed, south side of May Valley Road to crack and settle unsafely. See the county’s project website at http://1.usa.gov/1F24pWd.
By Greg Farrar
The Klahanie Fitness Center, one of the oldest tenants at the Klahanie Shopping Center on Klahanie Drive Southeast, closed its doors Feb. 26 upon losing its lease after 15 years.
KLAHANIE FITNESS CLOSES Despite public outcry, gym shutters its doors after losing its lease
By Tom Corrigan tcorrigan@isspress.com Gym member Trevor Griffith said he had gone through different levels of depression after hearing of the impending closure of Klahanie Fitness. “This really was a community gym,” Griffith said. A Facebook page dedicated to trying to save the gym had attracted 750 supporters as of late last week. John Waters, managing principal of the Gerrity Group, said he and numerous others in his California office had received phone calls from supporters of Klahanie Fitness. The Gerrity Group owns and operates the Klahanie Shopping Center on Klahanie Drive Southeast, where Klahanie Fitness had helped keep locals in shape for 15 years, according to Klahanie Fitness Manager Mike Knick. The gym lost its lease and,
By Greg Farrar
Trevor Griffith, a longtime local resident and triathlon, ironman and ultramarathon athlete, pauses after his workout Feb. 26 to lament the last day of business for Klahanie Fitness Center. despite obvious support from the community and its 3,000 members, closed its doors for good Feb. 26. “It was awful,” Knick said of the last day the gym was open. “It was terrible. I had members crying… people just staying around and hanging out until midnight.” Klahanie Fitness was a true
family business, owned by Knick’s stepfather, Ben Beale. Knick met his wife, Flavia, at the gym when she came in to work out. She eventually became a gym employee. Klahanie Fitness was on a month-to-month lease when the See CLOSURE, Page 3
Skate park goes back to City Council after supporters make their case By Tom Corrigan
Westbound cars last week on Southeast May Valley Road proceed on the one-lane restricted King County road after the automated traffic signal turns green.
City hires new engineers to work with transportation, wastewater By Tom Corrigan tcorrigan@isspress.com
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With the approval of the Issaquah City Council, the city’s Public Works Engineering Department intends to eventually add the equivalent of 2.25 new employees. Two engineers will be brought on board and one part-time position will be made into a full-time slot, Deputy City Administrator Emily Moon said. The city plans to create and recruit someone for one new position immediately. That person will focus on capital project management and capital planning for transportation, Moon said. The part-time slot is currently vacant, she added. Ironically, the person who held that spot left for a full-time job. Whoever fills the full-time position will focus on helping the city meet federal
storm water discharge standards. The city intends to fill that position as soon as possible. The last new employee will work with capital projects affecting city utilities. The city will not bring that person on board until the last quarter of this year, Moon said. The 2015 cost of the new employees was estimated as $187,261 to cover salaries and benefits, plus $20,000 for additional equipment and supplies associated with the new hires. “We’re hoping to address some pressing needs… particularly in the area of transportation,” Moon said. “This was important to us.” She added the new hires should free up Transportation Manager Gary Costa for other duties. The council’s Services and Safety Committee approved the new hires Feb. 10; the full council voted in favor of the move Feb. 17.
By Tom Corrigan tcorrigan@isspress.com March 16 may be a big day for supporters of a larger footprint for the proposed new Issaquah Skate Park. Four supporters met Feb. 27 with Mayor Fred Butler, who promised he would bring the issue before the City Council at what will be its second meeting of March. Butler said he would bring an agenda bill in front of the coun-
cil, which would then decide the city’s next move. Butler declined to say whether he supports the larger park, but said his position should become clear at the March 16 council session. “We did make an impact and at least they know our position,” said Theresa Stoppard, a major backer of a larger skate park and one of the four supporters who met with Butler last week. She added Butler did not commit himself to supporting or oppos-
ing a bigger park. “Hopefully, we will get some good news at that meeting,” Stoppard said, a meeting she promised park supporters would attend. The City Council has approved plans for a $350,000 skate park to be built in Tibbetts Valley Park near the Issaquah Transit Center. Construction is supposed to start this spring. A large group of resiSee PARK, Page 3
Youth board hosts State of Mind conference By Erika Kumar Special to The Press One in four adults and one in five youths — that’s how many Americans are affected by a mental illness in a given year, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Unlike a physical disability, it is impossible to know about someone’s mental health problems just by looking at them. Mental illnesses and tragedies relating to poor mental health, such as suicides, have unfortunately been steadily rising the
past two decades. In response to this pressing issue, the Issaquah Youth Advisory Board and the Issaquah Healthy Youth Initiative have teamed up to host the second annual State of Mind, a free mental health fair for adults and students from noon to 5 p.m. March 21 at Tiger Mountain Community High School. The event will feature three breakout sessions where participants can choose to attend one of five workshops offered. The presentations from professionals will cover a variety of mental
health topics, including body image and eating disorders, suicide prevention, stress management and self care, helping a loved one with depression, substance use and its effects on the developing brain, and healthy relationships. The day will close with a panel of speakers sharing their stories of living with mental disorders. “Our goals for this summit include reducing stigma around See CONFERENCE, Page 5
CAPTURE THE MOMENT ART EXHIBITION AND GALA FRIDAY | MARCH 13 | 5:00-7:00 PM
22975 SE Black Nugget Rd, Issaquah, WA 98029 RSVP at (425) 200-0331 by March 11.
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